WHITEHALL - More than 150 Whitehall Public Schools staff members are returning this week after summer break with a new contract.

The school board and unions for two bargaining units recently settled on one-year contracts for the teachers and support staff. The contracts call for a 2.5 percent increase in salary for the 130 teachers and 35 support staff.

The previous contracts — teachers' at the end of this month and the support staff's in September — were set to expire soon. The board approved the contracts at a special meeting earlier this month.

Superintendent Darlene Dongvillo said the year-to-year struggle for the state to determine the money for the student foundation grant and the district's fluctuating enrollment figures made coming to terms on multi-year contracts difficult.

Multi-year contracts usually make it easier for school officials to draw up their budget.